BOISE, Idaho — A conversation about abortion at a Republican Town Hall Saturday night is now drawing a lot of attention.
Rep. Vito Barbieri, a Republican representing a part of Kootenai County, was part of a panel discussion Saturday night in north Idaho. Among several topics discussed was abortion.
A question asked during the event for Rep. Ron Mendive and Rep. Vito Barbieri included, “How high of a priority is it to abolish all abortions, compromising with other so-called pro-life bills?
A portion of the discussion about that question included Barbieri saying, "I don't know why, to quote someone down there, "I don't know why Planned Parenthood hasn't been nuked off of State Street."
Mistie Tolman, Idaho State Director of Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest and Hawaii, says they are not ignoring what was said.
"Obviously, we were really concerned when we first heard about Representative Barbieri's comments that he made at the town hall," Tolman said.
The entire remarks Barbieri made can be watched in this YouTube video.
"I don’t know why, to quote someone down there, I don't know why Planned Parenthood hasn't been nuked off of State Street. I don't know why America has not been judged if you can say that we're not being judged now for the murder, 42 million babies worldwide murdered this year or last year. Judgment is coming. That's not my job. We know whose job that is. We are all working to save babies," Barbieri said Saturday.
Tolman explains how she sees the comment.
"Essentially calling into question why Planned Parenthood in Boise hadn’t been bombed, yet," she said.
Although Barbieri claims to be quoting someone else, Tolman says that message coming from a lawmaker is serious.
"Planned Parenthood has long been a target of anti-abortion violence, and so for an elected official to use this type of reckless and irresponsible language that would incite that type of violence is reprehensible," Tolman said.
Tolman says incidents like the 2015 attack on a Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs is a reminder, these kinds of threats are real to them.
"Yes, absolutely. We take all threats very seriously. We've had threats made on our doctors' lives here in Idaho," Tolman said.
Because of that, Tolman says they are calling for action.
"We are calling upon Speaker Bedke to actually have a conversation with Rep. Barbieri, and also for a formal ethics investigation," Tolman said.
KTVB reached out to Barbieri for comment and clarification about his comments Saturday, he has yet to respond.
Because the comments are seen as a threat by some, KTVB reached out to Boise Police Department to find out if they are involved.
A spokesperson for Boise Police says, “there are not any ongoing BPD investigations regarding this.”
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